wetherill



R. WETHERILL.

STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION man Nov. 24. 1915.

1,1 98,327. Patented Aug. 1,1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

B02702 WM MYL R. WETHERILL.

STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 24, 1915.

- Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 l l m R. WETHERILL.

STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 24. 19:5

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ROBERT WETHZERILL, 0F CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

STEAM-,ENGIN E.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented All. 1, 1-916.

Application filed Novemberfil, 1915. Serial No. 63,226.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, ROBERT WVETHERILL,

a citizen of the United States, residing in exhaust stroke shall be practically equal to that of the boiler or live steam, the arrange-- ment and construction of )arts being such as to attain this object without increasing the length of the cylinder or the piston dimensions.

The invention also contemplates a novel form of engine having one or more exhaust' valves for accomplishing the above desired end together with a plurality of admission valves and the necessary valve gear so .arranged and constructed as to permit of operation by a single eccentric.

These objects and other advantageous ends I secure as hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an engine equipped with my invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the cylinder shown in Fig. 1; Fig. '3 is a transverse vertical section on the line 5-6, Fig. 2; Fig. 4: is a vertical section illustrating -a modified form of exhaust valve; and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section of anen-gine cylinder similar to that shown in Fig.2, in which two exhaust valves areemployed in accordance with my invention.

In the above drawings -22 represents the housing of an engine having a cylinder 1, a crank shaft 19, a piston rod 21, and a piston 20. It is noted that said piston is of the standard proportions characterizing reciprocating engines of the ordinary type, as is also the cylinder itself. The cylinder casting in this instance includes a live steam chamber 2, steam ports 8 and 3 leading therefrom into the two ends of the cylinder respectively, and two admission valves 4 and t mounted to control the flow of steam through said ports.

That form of my invention shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is provided with a series of exhaust ports 5 all opening into it in substantially the same transverse central plane and also opening into a cylindrical chamber from which in the present instance a pair of ports 9 leads into an exhaust passage or conduit 6, the flow of steam from the cylinder through said ports being controlled by an elongated oscillatory exhaust valve 7. having a branched passage whose main portion 8 is formed to communicate with the various ports 5 at the same time that its two forks 8 communicate with the ports 9.

If desired, in place of the valve 7 with its branched passage, I may provide a valve '7 (Fig. 4) having a separate through passage 8* capable of simultaneously communicating with the ports 5 and the single central lower port *9 leading into the exhaust chamber 6. The two admission valves 4 and 4? have respectively connected to them arms 15 and 15 which through the rod 16, are connected to a rocker 1st pivoted on the housing 22 and also connected through a rod 17 and an arm 18 to the exhaust valve 7.

For operating the rocker arm 14 1 provide a single eccentric 12 mounted on the crank shaft 19 and operatively connected to said rocker by an eccentric rod 13, it being understood that while in Fig. 1 I have illustrated a specific form of valve gear for operating 10 for controlling the flow of live steam thereto.

Under conditions of operation and with the various parts adjusted to the positions shown in Fig. 2, steam is admitted to the right hand end of the cylinder through the port 3, thereby moving the piston in the direction indicated by the arrow. At a suitable time, depending upon the adjustment of the valve 4 and the operation of the governor 11, the flow of steam is cut off and as the piston 20 continues to move toward the center of the cylinder, the air or exhaust steam in the latter is forced out through the exhaust ports 5 and the passages 8, 8 and 9 into the exhaust chamber.

As the piston passes over the exhaust ports 5, the valve gear closes the exhaust valve 7, so that when said ports are again uncovered, the steam in the cylinder still continues to act expansively while the air or exhaust steam still in the left hand half of said cylinder is compressed until at the end of the stroke, it is practically at boiler pressure. Thereafter the inlet valve 4 is opened as is also the exhaust valve 7, permitting live steam to be admitted to the left hand of the cylinder and also allowing the exhaust steam to pass out through the ports 5, passages 8 and 8 and ports 9.

As before, steam is cut off by the closing of the inlet valve 4 at a predetermined point and the exhaust valve remains open no longer than the time at which the piston 20 covers the ports 5, although obviously it may be closed before such covering occurs if this should be considered advisable. case, at the end of the stroke the pressure in the exhaust end of the cylinder is substantially equal to that of the incoming live steam, it being noted that an engine constructed as above described practically elimi-.

nates cylinder condensation, requires but a single exhaust valve as well as materially fewer operating parts and altogether is comparatively inexpensive to build and economical to operate. At the same time both the cylinder and the piston are of standard proportions, in spite of the fact that the steam is exhausted from the center of the cylinder.

lVhile I preferably utilize the construc tion shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it is to be noted that some of the advantages of my invention may be obtained by mploying two exhaust valves 23 and 24 at the ends of the cylinder and connecting these by arms 25 and 26 to a.

rod 27 which in turn is connected to a rocker 14 driven from a single eccentric as before and also connected to the admission valves,

it being noted that in the above figure the valve gearing is indicated diagrammatically. The exhaust valves 23 and 24 are each provided with three through ports opening on the cylindrical surface of the valve at points 60 degrees distant and all intersecting at the In this casethere are ports 28 and 28 opening from the cylinder center of said valve.

In any.

into the cavities containing the valves 23 and 24 and from these same cavities are other ports 29 and 29 60 degrees distant from said first ports respectively opening into an exhaust chamber 30.

By any suitable means the valves 23 and 24 are so connected to the rod 27 that they are intermittently turned always in the same direction through angles of 30 degrees, and the adjustments are such that as the piston 20 moves toward the left the valve 24 remains closed during the entire stroke while the valve 23 is closed at or about the time the piston reaches the center of the cylinder with a view to having the pressure in said cylinder at the end of the stroke practically equal to boiler pressure. At or just before the piston starts toward the right from the left hand end of the cylinder, a 30 degree movement of the exhaust valve 24 moves this to its open position, the valve 23 remaining closed. Said valve 24 remains open until the piston reaches a point at or adjacent the center of the cylinder when it closes for the remainder of the stroke, with a resulting compression in front of the piston which amounts practically to boiler pressure at the end of said stroke.-

I claim The combination in a steam engine of a cylinder; two oscillatory admission valves at opposite ends of said cylinder; an oscillatory exhaust valve mounted to control the flow of steam through ports at the middle of the cylinder; a piston in said cylinder; a crank shaft; means connecting the piston with said shaft; an eccentric on the crank shaft; a rocker arm extending in opposite directions from its pivot; a rod connecting the eccentric with the rocker arm; a second rod connecting one branch of the rocker arm with the exhaust valve; and a third rod connecting the oppositely extending branch of the rocker arm to the admission valves.

. ROBERT WETHERILL.

Witnesses:

CHAS. W.'CLARK, F. H. PARSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, I). O. 

